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Purdue Basketball No. 1

How to Watch No. 1 Purdue Basketball's Game With Rutgers on Thursday Night

No. 1 Purdue will play against Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena in its first road matchup of the season. The Boilermakers are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against the Scarlet Knights.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. —  The No. 1-ranked Purdue basketball program faces its first true road test of the season when it tips off against Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The Boilermakers are on a three-game losing streak against the Scarlet Knights, with their last victory against them coming on Feb. 3, 2018. 

Purdue is 8-0 for just the third time under head coach Matt Painter, and a win over Rutgers would give Purdue just its fifth 9-0 start since 1940. The best start in program history is 14-0 (1993-94 and 2009-10). 

The Scarlet Knights are 4-4 entering the matchup. 

  • LIVE BLOG: When the game starts, flip over here to our blog and follow the game in real time, with news and opinion. CLICK HERE

Here's everything you need to know about the Purdue Boilermakers' game with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday:

How to watch Purdue Boilermakers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights

  • Who: No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (8-0) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-4)
  • When: 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, Dec. 9. 
  • Where: Jersey Mike's Arena, Piscataway, N.J.
  • TV: Big Ten Network
  • Announcers: Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel
  • Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 FM in Lafayette and 1260 AM in Indianapolis). Satellite: XM 196, SXM App 958
  • Radio Announcers: Rob Blackman and Bobby Riddell
  • Latest Line: Purdue is a 12-point favorite over Rutgers, according to the SISportsbook.com website. The over/under is 139.5.
  • Last year's records: Purdue was 18-10 last season, and 13-6 in the Big Ten. in the postseason, Purdue lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, and then lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the South Region, falling to No. 13-seed North Texas 78-69 in overtime. Rutgers was 16-12 a year ago, and 10-10 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights earned a No. 10 seed and defeated Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing 63-60 to Houston. 
  • Poll rankings: Purdue is ranked No. 1 in Week 5 of the Associated Press poll top-25 poll, and received all 61 first-place votes. The Boilermakers are also No. 1 in this week's Coaches poll. Rutgers is unranked.
  • Kenpom.com rankings: Purdue is No. 2 in the Kenpom.com rankings. Rutgers is ranked No. 98 out of 353 teams.

Purdue-Rutgers series history

  • Series history: Purdue leads the all-time series 12-4.
  • Purdue vs. Rutgers Thursday's contest marks the 17th all-time between the Purdue and Rutgers with the Boilermakers owning a 12-4 series lead. However, Rutgers has gotten the better of Purdue lately, winning the last three games in the series by a combined 15 points. The three-game streak snapped a 10-game winning streak by Purdue that spanned 37 years.

Recent Games

  • Purdue's last game: Purdue won its eighth consecutive game on Friday night, winning its Big Ten opener 77-70 over previously unbeaten Iowa. The win catapulted the Boilermakers to a No. 1 ranking, something that's never been done in school history. CLICK HERE
  • Rutgers' last game: Rutgers played against Illinois and suffered an 86-51 loss on the road. 

Meet the coaches

  • Meet Purdue coach Matt Painter: Matt Painter is in his 17th season as the head coach of the Boilermakers. Since being named coach in 2005, Purdue has reached the NCAA Tournament 12 times, with four Sweet Sixteen appearances and one Elite Eight appearance in 2019. He also coached once season at Southern Illinois (2004). He has a 363-184 record at Purdue, and is 388-189 overall. He is 181-109 in Big Ten games.
  • Meet Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell: Steven Pikiell is in his sixth season at Rutgers. He has an 84-81 record at the school. He has led the Scarlet Nights to two total postseason appearances, including the 2019-20 season that was canceled due to COVID-19.

Projected starters

  • Projected Purdue starters: Zach Edey (7-foot-4 sophomore center), Caleb Furst (6-10 freshman forward), Sasha Stefanovic (6-5 senior guard), Jaden Ivey (6-4 sophomore guard) and Isaiah Thompson (6-1 junior guard).
  • Projected Rutgers starters: Paul Mulcahy (6-foot-6 junior guard), Ron Harper (6-6 senior forward), Caleb McConnell (6-7 senior forward), Jaden Jones (6-8 freshman forward), Clifford Omoruyi (6-11 sophomore center)
  • STEFANOVIC NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE: Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic was named a candidate for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award. The award winners will be announced during the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four and NCAA Women’s Final Four this spring. CLICK HERE 
  • SASHA LIVE! PODCAST: Monday, Dec. 6 was the first day ever that Purdue's men's basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the country. Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic said coach Matt Painter congratulated them at the start of practice and said ''he even he thinks it's a cool honor. But then we went right to watching film and seeing what we need to work on.'' CLICK HERE
  • HANDLING EXPECTATIONS: Purdue has all the pieces to make a national title run this season, and since the bitter end to last season, those goals and lofty expectations have been in place. After getting off to a great 8-0 start, the Boilermakers are now ranked No. 1 in the country, a first in school history. But it's just a start, and they know it. CLICK HERE
  • BOILERS RANKED NO. 1: For the first time ever, the Purdue Boilermakers are ranked No. 1 in the country in this week's Associated Press top-25 poll. CLICK HERE
  • BOILERS TOP IOWA: Even though Purdue let most of a big second-half lead slip away, the Boilermakers hung on to beat Iowa 77-70 on Friday night in their Big Ten regular season opener. CLICK HERE
  • SURVIVING IOWA PRESS: Purdue struggled with Iowa's full-court pressure down the stretch, turning the ball over too much and allowing the Hawkeyes to get back in the game. An issue to be concerned with? CLICK HERE

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